Hell yeah the Army is too small. Stop spending on pork and fix the Army. Stop converting Light or Mech Infantry Brigades to Strykers and build the new brigades from scratch. I vote for the 1 heavy and 2 light divisions: 2nd Armored, 6th Infantry, and the 5th Infantry Divisions. Maybe include a parachute battalion in each to make them special mission capable. Oh yeah, procure some decent heavy equipment for the National Guard (instead of scrapping the old tanks and sending tankers to MP school). The Marines have seen the light – the 9th Marine Regiment is being reactivated right now. The Army should follow (as they always do eventually).

Bram, Bear in mind that the difference between an ‘armored division’ and an ‘infantry division’ (assuming mechanized) is pretty small. But TO&E’s don’t often reflect task organized formations anyway, so the difference can be even further blurred. And don’t even ask about cavalry formations, like 1st Cav (which is basically an armored division) vs Armored Cavalry Regiments, which are mini-divisions on their own… Have I mentioned that I like eggs?

Bram, We might consider putting more ‘light’ formations in the reserve component so more heavy line units are available at the critical moment. Last I knew the 29th ID, a Guard formation based in VA, was a light unit [or 29ID(L)]; would it hurt to do this in other places? Maybe that’s a way to have a further division of labor between the regular Army and the reserve. And the RA can still keep the 10th, 82nd, 101st, the Ranger regiment, and everything else Army within SOCOM, so wouldn’t lose any light fighters. But regardless, I don’t think you need a PhD and a post-doc at RAND to conclude that that the Army is too small for the missions it will be tasked with.

A lot of the National Guard is going ‘light’ becuase there is no money to replace worn out tanks and APC’s. While going light might be a good idea – it should be a well-considered decision not an economic necessity.